Authorities in South Carolina say the case of a New York teen who disappeared during a 2009 spring break trip to Myrtle Beach is officially considered a homicide.
The FBI announced Wednesday it's offering a $25,000 award for information on Brittanee Drexel.
The Rochester woman was 17 years old when she was last seen leaving a hotel on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach in April 2009.
South Carolina Special Agent in Charge David Thomas says Drexel was likely held against her will and killed in the McClellanville area. He says the announcement comes after talking to Drexel's family about what had been considered a missing-person investigation.
Drexel's cellphone transmitted its last known signal the day after she disappeared near the South Santee River, between McClellanville and Georgetown.
